User blog:Turtle365/8th Wiki Anniversary Blog -- Celebration
8th Wiki Anniversary Blog Special! 9th July 2007, 5PM Welcome whovians to the 8th anniversary of the wiki. Among the celebrations this year will be a list of wiki classics, series analysing and hopefully so nice comments from the people on this wiki. Over the years this wiki has seem many changes because of the Dark Ones and I would like to thank everyone that is here today to celebrate this momentous occasion. Eras: The history of this great wiki is extremely important in knowing our place today as is all history or any genre. From the creation in 2007 there have been at least 3 distinct periods from the Common Series Project era which included Blackgear and Tennantfan in 2010 to 2013-2014 where we had the Golden Age of the wiki with a huge revival with a burst of new users coming through. This represented our biggest age yet with our WAM score even going to 80.45 making it the 841st most popular wiki on that day which is highly impressive considering there are over 300000 wikias in total. In 2015 we have entered A New Age although it is so far unclear how this one will play out. It represents the rise in importance of loyal users from the Golden Age and despite a dip in growth and WAM score we have still managed to keep the wiki well alive. And in the past few months it has remained the most consistant than it has or had ever been before. This new era has so much potential and it continues to expand with Doctor Who Fanon becoming a place that welcomes new users and helps users of all series and attempts to help nurture writing talent. Wiki Classics Now to celebrate the stories that have changed the wiki or their respective series in such a way that they deserve recognition. I’m sorry if none of someone’s stories have not been selected and it is not to say you are bad as I believe that everyone who is currently writing on this wiki is brilliant, and I am not just trying to be nice :P. Here is a list in NO '''particular order so don’t worry about where you stories are it is just the order from which I can think off from the top of my head. · Skye is the Limit/Contingency Plan – by Pinguinus. · Doctor Who: The Next Doctor/Sands of Kharestan – by Styracosaurus Rex · Doctor Who Adventures/Island of Paradox – by Mastercharmander13 · Skye is the Limit/Ends Make Beginnings – by WaitingfortheDoctor · Doctor Who: The Next Doctor/The Dragon of St. Romain – by Pinguinus · Doctor Who: The Next Doctor/Movie: The Time War – by Turtlecake365 · Doctor Who Adventures/The Crossroads of Destiny – by Mastercharmander13 7 stories currently hold the status of wiki classic and as I said earlier I hope there is no hard feeling about this list or swearing about it you little … Daleks as every story on this wiki makes this wiki a bit better. I would suggest to anyone on this wiki if you haven’t already to read through these excellent stories (I know I have added some on here, I promise it is not self-gloating :P) and next year you could be on this ever expanding list just keep on writing and send me the link and the more you write the better you get. '''Series Analysis Skye is the Limit: One of the biggest series on the wiki and certainly it was one of the best, just a shame it is now confirmed to have ended which is a huge shame to the wiki. Stories: With such memorable stories as the brilliant finale that was Ends Make Beginnings and each episode always feels like it is a good enough length for the story itself. The series brought unique stories to the series including a TARDIS generated baby and the epic Contingency Plan. Even a scary Vashta Nerada story and my own Scared Passages. ''Even long epic episodes in the form of ''Journey To The TARDIS. Characterisation: This is the part in which separates this series from any other on the wiki. Skye transformed in character from a wild girl who loved to party to the calm and calculating Skye just before she regenerated after another excellent character called the Mistress had been in a fight with her, and it turned out they were mother and daughter. Jack Harkness also had the perfect characterisation and I felt WaitingfortheDoctor did his character justice and a lot more. The interactions between the characters were also funny and a certain character being out of the series (Oma) was wonderfully done. Arcs: Skye is the Limit has a lot smaller arcs than most series and this is the main area where the series could have improved upon. With plots like the Darkness were well used and very lightly inserted into stories but because the series ended before this particular arc could be completed we will never know if this would have continued. There was also Skye being a Time Lady arc which was very well used and was a stronger arc for the series. Overall: The series is one of the best for characterisation and the wonderful writing of WaitingfortheDoctor just enhance the series and cements itself as one of the best series that this wiki may ever see. Doctor Who Adventures: Perhaps the series with the most series and probably has the honour of having the most guest writers on it I would say DWA has been a very successful series through the range of stories. Stories: The season finales are usually the best stories of their respective seasons although The Island of Paradox ''is at the moment the stand out story of the series, the series also has the most successful collection of guest stars out of any other series that I have seen. The series seems to have very friendly stories with many layers to them which was shown in ''The Movie ''which was one of the best episodes of the series with its multi layered plot. '''Characterisation:' Alfie is probably the stand out companion off the series and is well used but my favourite character is probably Shalek because off his funny and peculiar nature which is masterfully used for humour. The Doctor is also portrayed as darker and it is brilliant although Capaldi’s Doctor suffered due to the two series his Doctor being in was done before Deep Breath aired. Alice is the only weak character but her developing relationship with Alfie is definitely a high point in the series. Arcs: MC13 has a great way of introducing plot arcs like the cracks in time and the letters being spotted all over the second series and the third series having the invasion being foreshadowed and the fourth series plot arc is kind of a spoiler so I will not reveal the nature off it but it is looking like one of the best yet. The arcs are subtle and excellently done through a number of writers. Overall: Doctor Who Adventures is one of the most inventive series on this wiki and its arcs and guest writers are some of the best features but the best writer on it is easily MC13 as he has made a range of different stories which are completely diverse and brilliant as others with twists that no one could possibly see coming. Galaxies Guardians I know, I should probably not be analysing one of my own series but this one is so much different from most of my other series. Despite not even series 1 being completed. Stories: Galaxies Guardians provides a different set of stories to many series on this wikis and that is shown from the shocking Dark Days to epic stories like Travelling Deception ''and the two part finale (this has been written but I am awaiting other writers). The Christmas special is far too short to count as a good story as it was made in a rush but most of the stories are too a relatively high standard. '''Characterisation:' A strong point of the series is the clear difference in characters from the childish Volvuna to the battle hardened the Engineer. Volvuna undergoes radical change from a child to a calculating leader through the first season and this is something that makes it different from many series. A common complain I hear is about the lack of Rakthro who seems to be the character who gets the least ‘screen time’ and this is an area the series could improve on as it goes through its run. Arcs: Again I cannot say too much about the upcoming arcs but they are huge and have big consequences which will be especially apparent in season 3 with two major developments. The first season presents a mystery man which will link to another series which makes the arcs possibly overcomplicated as they stretch over other series on the wiki but they are subtly done like in DWA and have big consequences which is again like DWA, it seems that DWA may have made some influence on the GG story arcs. Overall: Although the series has far too go I think it has turned out into one of the most unique series around as shown by the lack of canon villains, very few are on the table. Which perhaps shows that this series inspire originality through the storytelling of having a group of five oddball aliens replacing the Doctor. 1000 Starter Phenomenon Now many of you may have noticed when first looking at your first story it is probably around 1000 words, like my first story Return of the Daleks for The Next Doctor was 904 words and if I am speaking honestly was terrible. Now my most recent story was over 10000 words and my biggest story over 15000 words and both are far superior to my first story. If everyone reading this could post the word count for their first story, most recent story and finally their biggest story just to see the scope that everyone on this wiki has improved by. Rarely has somebody made their first story over 1000 words on this wiki and more likely that not it was probably not very good especially if you compare it to your most recent story. But every on this wiki always improves on their writing and within a year they always improve by a huge amount, trust me, I definitely improved by a lot since starting out almost two years ago. Writing Tips and Advice WARNING: THIS MAY NOT BE THE BEST ADVICE EVER BUT IT IS STUFF I FOUND HELPFUL! 1) Patient stories: Do not rush stories, always take time in it and never make the story nonsensical or too short as it will take away from the experience. A trend many may spot is the wiki classic are all longer stories as they have time to develop both the plot and characters. 2) A and B plots: Having a main plot and a smaller one which somehow connect is very engaging to any reading, with a big enough story you can have a C plot. Say the main story is a build up to a major battle then the B plot can be a romance between two characters or one of the characters have a disease as some potential examples. 3) Look back over the ending: I have not done this much but I really should be doing it more. So many times I have rushed an ending to a long story (Journey To The TARDIS) ''and you should also see if the ending fits the story, is it satisfactory or was it a waste of the readers time making the entire plot worthless. 4) Add Scenes: Remember a journey is not instantaneous and often they have many things in between points A to B never mind getting to Z. Adding scenes can improve character develop or you could use it to extend the plot or set up for the ending to make it more logical. 5) Rewrite: I admit I have hardly ever done this on Whoniverse Fanon, only one for Journey To The TARDIS and I can guarantee the rewrite was far better than the original. Most of us think our first stories are brilliant but a lot of the time they could be hugely improved with a rewrite, and you could foreshadow the plot more throughout. · With regards to reviews, it is great to have a brilliant review with the positives being pointed out but I think it is better to have a bit of constructive feedback. I have aimed to give an aim to the writer when reviewing others work and it is great when others point out some mistakes that I may have made or an area that I could improve on. A review should always include something to aim for. Of course say what is good about the story as that encourages others to write more. They are just five quick writing tips which I hope are helpful as I have found many of these very helpful and although I sometimes cannot remember them, only when I am looking at them I remember them, and I think many of us should follow these five tips and please suggest more in the comments section. '''Plot structures:' This goes hand in with writing tips. There are at least three main structures that seem to be used in writing, although I probably have missed some as I am only doing it based off the top of my head. 1. Developing Plot Structure: · The basic premise off this plot is that we travel with a group of characters who all mainly work towards one plot and this single plot is examined throughout an entire story. 2. Multi Layered Plots: · In this structure a group of characters will often have separate plots which will all tie in/contribute to the main plot. This could have several different tasks taken by different characters resulting in a story taking multiple points of views. 3. One Into Another or ‘The Simpsons Plot’: · One plot begins the story and then it carries the characters onto a second and bigger plot. The first plot leads the characters to a second plot which is different than point 1 as the characters are not developing one plot throughout, instead the first plot creates the second plot whether through a situation or an idea. It would be great to hear other plot structures, number 3 comes from something I noticed in the Simpsons episodes when I was younger. The first 7 minutes and then the next 13 minutes would focus on a different plot that was caused by the plot in the first 7 minutes. If you use other structures then put it in the comment section as I am sure others would want to know if you use a certain structure for your stories. Dark Ones: Over the past year many of us have seem to gone missing or absent for extended periods and an entirely logical a made up theory was made in this wiki about the beings called the Dark Ones who have taken the likes of Pinguinus, Matty and Styracosaurus and they could come after any of us next. Of course this is entirely made up so do not try hiding underneath your beds as you may find an alien with a bed sheet on its head as they are hopefully completely untrue. Although there has been a clear decline in the wikis numbers over the past year but many exciting projects has started so we are clearly fighting back the Dark Ones who have now been discovered. The Future: Let’s look through the timey wimey looking glass and therefore into the future. The wiki has come far since the wilderness days of 2013 and have come out of them with a fairly stable community and a stream of stories. Many projects will be started or continued like: · The Agents of Time · UNIT: The Series · Doctor Who Adventures · Twelfth Doctor Adventures · A Girl and Her Dream · Alien Hunters · The Adventures of Winters · Stuck on Earth · Galaxies Guardians · The Doctor (Series 1 and 2) · Doctor Who Series 11 and 12 (The Time Lord) Blue Encounters And many others, just from this list alone there is a wide variety of Whoniverse related series. We also changed our name from Whoniverse Fanon to Doctor Who Fanon which could help gather users for our future. The wiki has also undergone many design changes from the terrible design when I first came to the JPhil revolution as I like to call it with his many imaginative and brilliant designs changing the wiki into something brilliant. The current design is the best yet, and the future of the wiki looks a lot better because of these absolutely brilliant designs. Congratulations: Many changes including the great Finn Tracy being promoted from administrator to Bureaucrat. So a huge congratulations to Finn Tracy for all of his hard work in the category sorting of many pages and the general harmony of the community and to him having the most edits on this wiki out of any user, a huge congratulations. JPhil is another user who deserves huge credit for everything he has done from the design off the wiki to the sorting of pages to make sure that page designs and titles of pages ensure easier navigation for the various series on this wiki and his tutorials are extremely helpful so a huge congratulations to JPhil. I could congratulate every user on the wiki and every user deserves it, so a huge congratulations for the entire community. But the amount of time to congratulate everyone would take so long but do not take that as you not being noticed as every contribution is vital to this wiki and valued equally whether it is a grammar fix or a whole story being published we value every edit that this wiki gets. So thank you for a wonderful year and all this congratulating is probably boring you and long may the 8th anniversary be celebrated for being a year of innovation and new ground for the wiki. And let’s hope the 9th anniversary will be as good as the 8th anniversary was, thank you for reading and being a part of this wikia. Category:Blog posts